The five FIP regional pharmaceutical forums, which cover the African, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asian, and Western Pacific regions, are now officially part of FIP, the federation announced today. These forums were established over 20 years ago, to increase dialogue, understanding and activities to improve pharmacy services and health according to specific needs, and to be the liaising structures between the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Offices and FIP. “In recent years, both the forums and FIP expressed a desire for a closer relationship and a sense of belonging, and a need for greater support from and alignment with FIP, both institutional and strategic. Initial meetings between the forums and FIP were held in 2019 to explore options for integration, and following our consultations in 2023, I am pleased that the regional pharmaceutical forums are now fully integrated within FIP. This is an important step in our ‘One FIP’ approach,” said FIP president Paul Sinclair. The integration will facilitate FIP in consolidating its presence, visibility and influence across the WHO regions, including enhanced work with the WHO Regional Offices and partnerships with other regional stakeholders. “The WHO Regional Officers are important stakeholders in the definition of health and pharmaceutical policies in regions, with significant influence on national policies. In addition to global WHO policies, the policy and technical documents of its regional offices are opportunities for collaboration. Furthermore, cooperation among FIP member organisations within a region — given their common geography, and often cultural, economic and political closeness — will be efficient and valuable,” he added. The forums will act as the regional arm of FIP with the WHO, with speaking rights at the FIP Council, but no voting rights so as not to duplicate the votes of FIP member organisations. “The integration of the forums is part of a wider body of strategic work to align multiple governance structures and create synergies. I am very pleased to officially welcome the forums as part of FIP and to optimise efforts towards achieving FIP’s vision and mission,” Mr Sinclair said. More information about FIP regional pharmaceutical forums can be found here.